On a roll...

Slightly off topic for today's post, but I was so proud of my creations that I thought I'd share them!

As part of my birthday, my OH booked me on a bread making course.  I have tried very hard in the past to master the art of bread making, but I just couldn't seem to get it right.  My bread was so dense and thick and nothing at all like the light, springy, fluffy handmade bread I'd seen on tv or in books. 

I went to Bread in Fife in a little town near where I live.  The bread making course actually takes place in the kitchen of a B & B.  Colin runs the B & B with his partner and he makes all the bread for the breakfasts. 

There were 4 of us on the course, we gathered round the kitchen worktop and set to work in our aprons.  First up was a wholemeal loaf.  We measured, mixed and kneaded.  We left that to rise, and got on with  making the dough for some rolls.  Whilst the rolls were rising we made some rough oatcakes.  We stopped for lunch (sampling some more of the delicious breads) while the oatcakes cooked in the oven, and then it was back to work.  We knocked back the dough and then shaped the loaves and rolls, had a quick tidy up of the kitchen while the bread and rolls cooked, then Colin managed to make up some wholemeal scones in around 20 minutes from start to finish (as in us eating them!). 

Here's some I prepared earlier!

We tasted some fantastic breads (walnut bread, olive bread and lemon rolls).  Wow, is all I can say!  I can't wait to try to make some of these.  The recipes for these breads and many more are here on the Bread in Fife website. 

We made 2 wholemeal loaves each...

Wholemeal loaves

We also made 6 rolls (I chose to make white rolls) with various toppings -

Yummy rolls

We also made some fantastic thick rough oatcakes.  I don't have a photo of these....but they are delicious! 

The only downside about bringing home so much of our baking was that I'll have to wait until we've eaten it all before I can practice my new bread making skills and make more!

I had a fantastic day and if you live in the Fife area I would definitely recommend you try this course - no previous baking experience is required, it really is that easy! 

And back on the sewing topic - I finished my quilt today!!!! As soon as I finished the binding I was sooooooo pleased with it!  Hopefully the sunshine will continue and I'll be able to wash it and hang it on the washing line tomorrow for the classic 'quilt on the washing line' photos. 

So all-in-all I'd say I had a pretty productive weekend :-)